ABSTRACT
The word Punjab combines two Persian words, panj ‘five’ and āb ‘water’, to mean ‘a land where five rivers flow’. Because India is surrounded by water to the south, east, and west and mountains to the north, its northwestern region—the Punjab—has historically presented the major overland access to the subcontinent. Over time, the many incursions by Persians, Greeks, Scythians, Kushans, Huns, Turks, and other peoples have resulted in a diverse group of permanent settlers in this region. From the 1100s to the 1800s, Turko-Afghan, Mughal, and Marāṭhā rulers dominated, followed by the British. At partition in 1947, the Punjab was divided into Indian and Pakistani territories. In 1966, further political reconfiguration of the Indian state of Punjab resulted in the creation of two new Indian states, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. The present Indian state of Punjab has rich agricultural lands, with many songs and dances related to farming, harvesting, and village life.
